Aryna Sabalenka has put herself in the line of fire by accepting ‘Battle of the Sexes’ showdown

Aryna Sabalenka clearly doesn’t comprehend the level of animosity she has caused by signing up for her ‘Battle of the Sexes’ clash with Nick Kyrgios later this month.

In a series of interviews to promote her match against Kyrgios on December 28 in Dubai, the world’s No 1 female player looked a little bemused by any suggestion that her participation in this eagerly-awaited match could be damaging to the women’s game.

“I don’t agree,” she told the BBC, when asked if she was potentially harming the image of the WTA Tour. “I am not putting myself at any risk. We’re there to have fun and bring great tennis. Whoever wins, wins.”

“It’s so obvious that the man is biologically stronger than the woman, but it’s not about that. This event is only going to help bring women’s tennis to a higher level.

“It’s not going to be an easy match for Nick. I’m going to be there competing and showing women are strong, powerful and good entertainment. He’s in a lose-lose situation. I’m in a win-win situation.”

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Sabalenka’s belief that this is merely an event that will draw eyes to tennis that might not normally be following the sport at this time of the year is an alternative argument and it is not without foundation.

If this was a boxing match between a man and a women, we would all have bigger objections and even if you are not a fan of the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ tagline on this match, some of the emotions it is stirring up seem pretty lavish.

This will eventually be an exhibition match between the best female player in the world and an opponent who is effectively retired from professional tennis.

None of us need to be told what would happen if a fully fit Kyrgios from three years ago took on Sabelenka, but this is a much-depleted version of the Aussie and he knows his role in this spectacle is not to humiliate his opponent by blasting her off the court.

They share a management agency and while we can’t say either player will be playing below their best in a match that will see both players have just one serve and Sabalenka playing on a slightly smaller court, this is not a grudge match that will give us too many new answers.

If Kyrgios is fit enough, he will have too much power for Sabelenka and the end result will be an entertaining showpiece that does no one any harm.

Yet listen to the words of Katherine Whittaker from The Tennis Podcast and you get a radically alternative verdict on this match-up.

“Nick Kyrgios is a man that stands for something and that’s not an accident. He is choosing to stand for and represent misogyny,” said Whittaker.

“This is what Nick Kyrgios will be representing and fighting for in the self-titled Battle of the Sexes. A validation of his belittling of women’s tennis and the way he perceives women and women’s sport of being lesser purely on the basis of brute power.

“This event is a dog whistle. It feels like a dog whistle publicity stunt. A symbol of the populist Trumpian age of do-whistles and division and stupidity.”

This follows up from Whittaker’s previous comments, as she made her position clear on the event.

“I see absolutely nothing to be gained for women’s tennis – I see only bleakness,” she told BBC Sport.

“It’s a crass commercial venture and a vehicle for one of the most outspoken misogynists in tennis who just wants attention.

“If Sabalenka wins, she beats a man who is unfit and has been a total irrelevance for a number of years. What does she win? Nothing. Unless she wins 6-0 6-0, people will only find ammunition to fire at women’s tennis.

“If Kyrgios wins, he and others of the same mind will claim it legitimises everything he’s already spewing out. It’s disgusting to be giving him a platform.

“I find it utterly ludicrous this is going to be happening in 2025.”

Kyrgios’ guilty plea in a domestic abuse case in Australia back in 2023 adds to the criticism from those who don’t believe this match should be taking place and amid the negativity, the only winners may be the two players who will pocket a huge fee for their participation in a match that has inspired more negativity than any story in tennis since Jannik Sinner’s doping ban earlier this year.

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